Floor clip



Feb. 11, 1936. J. A. MacLEAN 2,030,216

FLOOR CLIP Filed April 4, 1935 Patented Feb. Il, 1936 Y v vI'iJNiTEDESTATES PATENT OFFICE FLOOR CLIP John A. MacLean, Chicago, Ill., assignerto Mac- Lean-FoggLock Nut Company, Chicago, Ill.,l a corporation ofIllinois Application April 4, 1935,` Serial N0. 14,575

5 Claims. (Cl. 206) The present invention relates to floor clips andReferring tothe Single sheet of drawing, is particularly concerned withimprovements in Figure l iS a` transverse Sectional View of a the floorclips disclosed in my prior Patent No. beam, OOring Clip and boltembodying the PreS- 1,922,814, issued August 15, 1933, for a floor clipent invention; i 5 and method of making same. The oor clips in Figure 2ls a view in perspective of the present 5 question are particularlyadapted to be used for improved OOr- Clip;

securing wooden floor boards or planks to a supp Figure 3 iS a top planVieW 0f a lOOI Clip; porting structure of the steel beam type, such asFigure 4 is a side elevational view of the floor is used in railway carsy clip of Figure 2, showing the position of the nut 10 One of theobjects of the present invention is locking flange before the flangehaSbeeli bent to l10 the provision of an improved floor clip structurethe positiOn f Figure 1; which is eapabie ofA being manufactured more lFigure 5 is a bottom plan view of the floor clip; economically having aminimuml number of Ina-- and chine operations and using a minimum amountFigure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on 13 of material forsecuring the same -amount of the plane of the lille 5-*6 lOOkiDg 111 thediretti@1 15 bearingl surface so that the clip can be produced of thearrows and showing the prong Structure at a lower cost and placed withinthe means ofa and mode of formation of the prongs. larger number ofpurchasers. i Referring to Figure 1, I0 indicates in its en- Anotherobject of the invention is the'provision tirety the noor clip which isused to secure the of an improved floor clip structure vespeciallyOOring Il t0 the beam l2 by means 0f the bOltS 20 adapted with respectto the character of its prong l I3- `The beam l2 may comprise the Sidesill of a structure to be used on Aflooring of all different railway Carwhich eXtendS longitudinally theI'eOf types, particularly hard woodflooring into which and usually comprises-an I-beam 0r 'u U-bearncertain types of prongs can be inserted only with havingl a horizontallydisposed upper Sill flange the application of considerable force. Whilethe I4. A separate bolt I3 or a plurality of bolts and 25 prongs of thetype disclosed in my patent arexperclips may be used for each board ofthe ooring, fectly capable of performing the functions dedepending uponthe width and the method of sired and may be manufactured at a low cost,application of the clip to the ooring is Substanthere is a tendency inthe hardest type of^floor` tially the same as described in my patentabove $0 ing to cause a splitting although this tendency is mentioned.

not present at all in soft wood flooring. 'I'he clip I0 is clamped tothe board ll by the One of the objects of the present invention is nutI5 on the bolt i3 which draws the prongs it the provision of a prongstructure which can be into the wood and prevents rotation of the clipvery easily forced into the Adesired lposition in even in. The cup l 0is formed with a Suitable offset il the hardest type of Wood used inooring and so that the flange portion t8 of the clip engages 35 whichhas absolutely no tendency to cause splitbelow the beam iiange It whenthe board II is ting in the hardest woods when so used. drawn tightlyagainst thek top of the beam I2. Another object of the invention is theprovision Of course, the clip is providedwith the aperture of animproved structure involving a rearrangei9 of suitablesize for the boltI3. 40 ment and reversal of parts similar to those shown Referring to myprior patent, .in that device 40 in my prior patent but by means ofwhich the the ange 20 of reduced thickness at one side effectiveness ofthe clip is increased. `By such a of the clip was formed on the loweredge of the rearrangement the bearing surface may be inclip, beingspaced from the boards as shown in creased and the nut locking prong maybe so my patent. I have discovered that if this iiange arranged by meansof a simple shearing operais formed on the upper side of the floor clipI0, 45 tion that it is in convenient position to permit the area oftheclip between theoffset I'l and hole insertion of a tool andyetlocated in the plane I9 may be considerably increased therebyprovidof the clip so that it does not, inthis position, ing a betterbearing surface against the wood interfere with the rotation of the nutWhile the with the use of the same amount of material or 1.50 nut isbeing tightened on the bolt, providing the same amount of bearingsurface on 50 Other objects and advantages of the invention both sidesof the bolt with the use o f a reduced will be apparent from thefollowing description amount of steel. l and the accompanying drawing inwhich similar The bar of which the floor clip I0 is made characters ofreference indicate similar parts A may be hot-rolled to shape, with aflange 20 of throughout the several views. reduced thickness, as shown;and in order to 55 increase the bearing surface I prefer to arrange theange 20 of reduced thickness on the upper side of the iioor clip I 0.The clips may then be cut oir to appropriate length and simultaneouslyor in a different operation provided with the oifset I1, and the hole Ilmay be punched.

With the thin iiange 20 of the clip arranged on the top side, the nutlocking ilange portion 2| may be formed or cut loose by a simpleshearing operation, the tool acting from the top of the clip I0, asshown in Figs. 2 and 4, and tending to leave the nut locking ange 20bent slightly downwardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and also shown indotted lines in Fig. 1. This leaves the ange 2| still in the plane ofthe clip III but bent away from the board il sufiiciently so that ascrewdriver, a claw hammer or other suitable tool may be readilyinserted under the ange 20 and below the board I I, and theiiange 20 maybe very quickly and easily bent downward to the position shown in full'lines in Fig. 1 to lock the nut I5. 'I'his results in a considerablesaving of time over any arrangement where the nut locking iiange is inclose engagement with the board so that it would involve any diiilcultyin the insertion of the bending tool.

I prefer, also, to form the prongs I6, which prevent rotation of theclip during the securing operation and afterwards, by a partialperforation method which results in the formation of a much smallerprong Il capable of being forced into the very hardest woods that mightbe used for iiooring without any possibility of splitting and withoutnecessity for much hammering. A single hammer blow is sumcient to forcethe frusto-conical prongs i6 into the wood and this also saves time inthe installation of the iioor clips.

These prongs Il are formed by the use of a perforating die which is soarranged that it goes into the apertures 22 only to the limit of extentshown in Figure 6 and during this operation the clip is. of course,supprted by a suitable die complementary in shape to the prongs I 8 andarranged on the lower side of the clip I0. AThe latter die is. ofcourse. provided with apertures for permitting the discharge of oil.gas, etc.. from the socket in the die which is intended to receive theprong I8.

The-prongs I8 may thus be formed with a punching' machine and thisoperation may be performed simultaneously with other punching orshearing operations on the clip Ill by mea-ns of suitable dies, therebyfurther reducing the cost of manufacturing the clip.

It will thus be observed that I have invented an improved form of myfloor clip which irlvolves a rearrangement and reorganization of theparts in such manner that they may be constructed more economically andapplied more quickly and with less labor, thus decreasing 'the cost ofthe clip and the cost of installation of the floor. i

while I have illustrated and described the floor clip and its variousmodifications associated with a iloor construction applicable to arailway car, it is to be understood that my clip is applicable for usein securing the boards of a iioor in various constructions. Neither do Iwish to be limited tol the yexact structures as shown, as changes andmodifications will readily suggest themselves and I therefore aim tocover all such changes as come within the spirit. and scope of theappended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is: Y.

1. In a floor clip for securing iioors to structural frame members, anintegral metal member having an attaching iiange provided with anaperture for receiving a securing bolt to secure said member, a frameengaging flange carried by said clip, and an oii'set in said clipadjoining said attaching flange and frame engaging ilange and,y bringingsaid frame engaging ange into a diiierent plane whereby the ooring maybe located on one side of the frame and the clip may engage the oppositeside of the frame. said clip having an integral extension located ontheside nearest the iioorlng and said extension being of reducedthickness whereby a portion of said extension vmay be bent downward tolock the nut of the bolt and the balance of said extension may beutilized for bearing against the wood oit the iiooring.

2. In a iioor clip for securing floors to structural frame members, anintegral metal member having an attaching iiange provided with anaperture for receiving a securing bolt to secure said member. a frameengaging ange carried by said clip, and an onset in said clip adjoiningsaid attaching flange and li'rame engaging iiange and bringing saidframe engaging flange into a diil'erent plane whereby the flooring maybe located on one side of the frame and the clip may engage the oppositeside of the frame, said clip having an integral extension located on theside nearest the flooring and said extension being of reduced thicknesswhereby a portion of said extension may be bent downward to lock the nutof the bolt and the balance of said extension may be utilized forbearing against the wobd of the iiooring, said extension being initiallybent downward but still remaining between the planes divided by theupper and lower surfaces of the clip whereby a tool may be convenientlyinserted between the extension and the ooring for bending the extension.

3. In a. floor clip for securing iioors to struc-` tural frame members,an integral metal member having an attaching flange provided with anaperture for receiving a securing bolt to secure said member, a frameengaging flange canled by said clip, an oifset in said clip adjoiningsaid attaching ange andframe engaging ilange and bringing said frameengaging ange into a diii'erent plane, whereby the flooring may belocated on one side of the trame and the clip may engage the oppositeside of the frame, and an integral extension of said clip adapted to bebent up into engagement with a nut on the securing bolt for securing thenut in predetermined position by engagement with. the' at surfaces onthe nut, said clip being provided with a prong extending upwardly fromits upper surface for engagement in the wood of the iiooring, said prongbeing formed out of a portion of the body of the clip, which portion isforced upwardly by deforming a part of the bocLv within the boundary ofthe body.

4. In a iioor clip for securing iloors to structural frame members, anintegral metal member havingvan attaching flange provided with anaperture for receiving a securing bolt to secure said member, a frameengaging ange carried by said clip, an onsetin said clip adjoining saidattaching flange and frame engaging ange and bringing said frameengaging ilange into a dinerent plane, whereby the flooring may belocated on one side of the frame and the clip may engage the oppositeside of the trame, and an integral extension of said clip adapted to bebent up into engagement with a nut on the securing bolt for securing thenut in predetermined position by engagement with the flat surfaces onthe nut. said integral extension of the clip being arranged at the sidenearest the iiooring, whereby the bearing surface of the clip againstthe nooring may be increased adjacent the securing bolt with the use ofa minimum amount of material.

5. In a door clip for securing iioors tostructural frame members, anintegral metal member having an attaching flange and a retaining flange,said ang being onset from each other, whereby said flanges are locatedin diiierent planes so thattheoormaybelocatedononesideod'tbe frame andthe clip may engage the opposite side of the frame, said clip having anintegral extension located on the side of the clip adjacent the door toprovide an increased bearing surface. and said extension being separatedat one end from the body o! said clip by a cut, forming a bendableportion, said bendable portion initially extending downward from theplane oi the side of said attaching flange which is adjacent the iioor,but still extending within the plane of the opposite side of saidattaching flange, whereby a tool may be inserted under said bendableportion to bend it up to lock a nut, but the bendable portion is stillin the plane oi' the clip and does not inter- 1ere with the rotation o!the nut prior to its further bending.

JOHN A. MscLEAN.

